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5 Responses

You are right in your conclusion that on things like this 'only Google knows'. However, your example term is an interesting one as Google has historically been odd in their treatment of marketing and SEO firms when it comes to local results. Google kicked SEO companies out of the local organic results a couple of years ago, and some marketing firms got the boot as well. However, for the term you've specified, I do see 1 blended local result coming up for a firm called 'The Marketing Company Scotland'. Everything else on the page of results is organic (searching from my location in California, but at least one company is being given local treatment.

It has long been a mystery how Google decides which queries have a local intent. Sometimes they just don't show local results for things you think they would and other times, they show local results when that wasn't your intent, as the searcher, at all. There isn't really a way to influence their decision on this...at least, not that I've heard of, and like yourself, I've been been doing Local SEO for years.

The only thing to hang your hat on is that Google is constantly changing their handling of local. What they are doing today may not be what they are doing and, eventually, you may see them decide that your query of choice is local in intent.

You might be asking a question that Google only knows though. We know how to optimise to increase and get into those map listings, but actually getting the map system activated for a local search term maybe a different matter all together.

But im not 100% as I not a map wizard, sure someone on here will know a lot more about it.

Could be down to the number of queries for the term before it activates, queries against number of listings, might not be but just an example of what could be taken into account.

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